This blog post discusses whether a pregnant woman in a brain-dead state should be used like an incubator for the sake of her unborn child, and how the issues of euthanasia and abortion should be viewed in such a situation.
A long time ago, when I was a college student, I took a class called “Bioethics.” This class aimed to address various bioethical issues that arise in modern society, and after discussing the issue of abortion, it moved on to brain death and euthanasia. There was an interesting story that was covered in this process. It was about what decisions should be made when a pregnant woman falls into a state of brain death. At the time, I thought this was a very unlikely scenario and considered it a problem that could only be imagined in order to apply the facts I had learned, rather than an actual event, so I simply covered it as interesting. However, the reality was different.
On November 14, 2013, a child was born at the Debrecen National Hospital in Hungary. This child was born by a mother who had been brain dead and this incident became a big issue and was reported to the world, touching many people. On the other hand, on January 24, 2014, a Texas state court ruled to discontinue life-sustaining treatment for a woman who had fallen into a state of brain death during her pregnancy. This was the result of a lawsuit filed by the woman’s family against the hospital. Although the probability of such a situation occurring in real life seems low, it is clearly a problem that is occurring in reality. Moreover, this issue has caused a lot of controversy because it is intertwined with the issue of the dignity of a pregnant woman who has become brain dead and the issue of abortion of the fetus in her womb.
When dealing with any issue, it is necessary to first identify the core target of the issue. Therefore, before discussing the answer to this question, it is necessary to talk about what brain death is. Currently, both states are legally recognized as death in South Korea. One is cardiac death, which is an easy condition for us to accept, meaning that the heart no longer beats, and the other is brain death, which is a condition in which the entire brain, especially the brain stem, which acts as the central organ that maintains life, is damaged. When the brain stem is damaged, vital functions such as breathing, body temperature, and blood pressure maintenance are disrupted, leading to cardiac arrest without the aid of a device. Brain death and a vegetative state are often confused, but a vegetative state is a state of coma caused by damage to the cerebral functions, but since the brain stem is not damaged, breathing and heartbeat are maintained, and there is a small chance of regaining consciousness. On the other hand, if brain death is accurately diagnosed, there is almost no chance of regaining consciousness. Therefore, brain-dead patients are treated as deceased and can be used for organ donation, but patients in a vegetative state cannot be used for organ donation because there is a possibility of them coming back to life. In the end, brain death is different from cardiac death, but it can be considered as a definite death. In that case, a brain-dead body can be considered as a body that still has warmth.
If brain death is recognized as death, what will happen to the fetus? The chances of a fetus surviving in a pregnant woman who has actually become brain dead are very small. However, as mentioned above, there are cases where the fetus has survived, so this issue must be addressed. The question of whether abortion is right or whether abortion should be allowed has caused a lot of controversy from ancient times to the present. Moreover, this issue may seem even more complicated because people who are in favor of euthanasia oppose abortion and vice versa. However, this issue is not about the ethical feasibility of abortion, but about whether the life of the fetus should be respected more than the dignity of the pregnant woman’s death, and the discussion can proceed more smoothly if the issue is set up in this way.
In conclusion, there is no reason why the life of a fetus should be more respected than the death of a pregnant woman. Let’s take a look at why. Basically, the use of a dead body is taboo in any society. When it comes to how to dispose of a dead body after a person’s death, or in other words, funeral arrangements, people generally try to follow what the person had decided to do while he or she was alive. Anatomical lessons using corpses or organ donations are also not conducted without the consent of the person or his or her family before death. Considering the number of people who can be saved through simply studying corpses or organ donations, shouldn’t this be mandatory rather than optional? But why is consent required for this issue? This is because the body should not be seen as simply dead meat, but the dignity of the person should be maintained to some extent. Based on this idea, if we look at this issue, the forced use of a pregnant woman’s brain-dead body for the life of the fetus is no different from treating a human body as an incubator, and it is the same as forcing everyone to donate their bodies. Therefore, there are two main solutions to this problem.
The first is to follow the content that the person told the people around him or her while he or she was alive or the will in case he or she becomes brain-dead or a vegetative state. The court’s decision mentioned in the second paragraph was helpful in making the court’s decision because the woman had requested euthanasia if she became brain dead. Similarly, donating one’s body is possible if one agrees to it while alive, and using one’s body for the fetus in one’s womb also depends on one’s will. As such, it is most appropriate for the person to make the decision on how to use his or her brain-dead body.
The second case is about a person who fell into a state of brain death without any mention of it during his or her lifetime. If the person’s thoughts cannot be known, the choice is ultimately left to the people left behind. At this point, the decision of the family may vary depending on the situation of the remaining family members, unlike the actual thoughts of the person. Therefore, in such cases, a method that is universally applicable to everyone is needed. I believe that the use of a brain-dead body is against human dignity, and therefore, I believe that forced life extension is not right. The story of a brain-dead mother who gave birth to a child and then died of cardiac arrest may be touching because of the greatness of motherhood, but a brain-dead person cannot feel motherhood.
The second solution may be considered to be my personal opinion, and I may be disliked for it, but the most important thing is the person’s will. Therefore, the most ideal solution is for everyone to think in advance about what would happen if they were in a brain-dead state and became pregnant, and to tell their loved ones or leave a will. What you really need to worry about is having your body used against your will.
